1. Summer Research at University of Sussex
relished the challenge. Although there worked in a lab abroad and might say
is still some work to be done on it, she ‘hey that’s different.’”
said the opportunity to work on a
technical paper worthy of publication So what is next for Michelle, after she
was valuable experience. graduates this year? She wants to
volunteer for a year. She is thinking
And what else does a summer abroad about AmeriCorps, working
have to offer? The ISS program set up somewhere in South America. After
many organized trips for the summer that she wants to go to graduate
students, which Michelle took full school for Environmental Toxicology.
advantage of. Most weekends there
For Michelle Knabb, a senior chemistry were “outings” all over the place. All by Dustin Grinnell
major at Penn State, going abroad was told, she went to Stonehenge, Bath,
always part of the plan. and even Paris.
When Paul Chiarulli went to England,
She knew though, for most Asking her about her favorite part of to a chemistry lab at Sussex University
undergraduate science students, with the experience, she reminisced about he didn’t expect to have to chase
many obligations and commitments, her trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. down wild voles in the countryside,
there was usually just not enough time but that is exactly what was asked of
to “fit it in.” When Susan Knell from “Some of my friends and I took a trip him.
the Eberly College of Science without the whole ISS group and I
presented her with the idea of going to really felt like I learned a lot about the
Sussex University as part of Sussex culture on that trip.”
International Summer School (ISS) in
These realizations about the culture
England to work in a chemistry lab,
and herself were quite common during
she knew it was her chance.
her stay.
The beauty of the opportunity was that
“I was born in Pennsylvania, I went to
she could go abroad and be a part of a
school at Penn State, and I had never
legitimate research project.
been abroad before, so the prospect of
“A lot of upperclassmen have to worry doing research internationally was
about getting research experience,” scary at first.”
As a senior chemistry major at The
she thought: “Why not do it in another
Although going was out of her comfort Pennsylvania State University there
country?”
zone she thinks the whole experience were many times Paul was out of his
With two summers spent at the Stroud has made her more independent, and comfort zone. In fact the whole eight
Water Research Center and two years definitely more self-confident. Besides weeks was an exercise in variety.
in a lab at Penn State, Michelle is no wrestling with new scientific methods,
and instruments, there were many Paul’s desire to do research
stranger to the lab. Her interest in
things she had to do that summer that internationally as part of the Sussex
biogeochemistry landed her in Dr. John
she had never had to do before. International Summer School (ISS) was
Zhou’s lab which conducts research at
Although she’s never been good with both professional and personal. “I
Sussex in the Department of Biology
directions there were many times ended up going because I didn’t know
and Environmental Science.
where she needed to be; she found exactly what I wanted to do after
For eight weeks Michelle and her lab even little things like that encouraged school and I wanted to try science
worked to develop a better method for personal growth. from another perspective. The work I
analyzing pharmaceuticals in stream was going to be doing with my advisor
sediments. How does she think the whole was something I had never done
experience has helped her before; it gave me an opportunity to
Although she could not completely professionally? Well, she thinks that try something new. Also, I wanted to
finish her project, because an having gone abroad to do her research be more well-rounded.” This study
important instrument broke down part will certainly give her an edge. abroad experience gave him that
was through the experience, the “free chance.
time” allowed her to start drafting a “People who look at resumes will want
paper on the results they had already to see that you have a certain amount
collected. It was the first time she had of research experience, someone who
taken on the challenge of writing a looks at my resume might see that I
scientific paper for publication and she

2. For eight weeks Paul worked with Taking his own advice, he traveled all Career & International Education at
Professor Sue Hartley studying the through England and even to Prague. In sek104@science.psu.edu
interaction between voles and grasses. the summer he was away from home he
Working with two post docs and six PhD ventured to cities like Bath, historical by Dustin Grinnell
students he measured silica uptake in sites like Stonehenge, and even new and
plants and studied how different interesting countries like
concentrations altered the feeding Czechoslovakia.
behavior of voles that fed on them. This
is how Paul found himself chasing down For Paul the experience was both
those furry little creatures in the wild. personally and professionally rewarding;
he feels like he is a better person and a
In all, Paul was trained in a range of better scientist.
techniques, both in the field and in
chemical analysis of plant material in “Overall I felt like the experience
the lab. Day-to-day activities involved broadened my horizons as a scientist.”
the use of light microscopy, X-ray
fluorescence spectroscopy, flash So what’s Paul up to now? He is thinking
combustion and gas chromatographic about graduate school, most likely in
separation; techniques he will chemistry, maybe even engineering, or
undoubtedly use in the future. bioengineering.
He had to work with animals, which he Even though there probably won’t be
had never done before. The experience any voles in his future Paul is happy to
was interesting to him, he found himself have experienced research in a new lab,
intrigued by the voles behavior. In the and a new country, to have learned
end his experience with animals and more about who he is and where he
ecology reminded him of his passion for wants to go.
chemistry. This trend of self-discovery
was common throughout the summer. When asked if he’d do it all
over again he responded
But lab work isn’t the whole story. Even quickly and confidently:
though he had to be in the lab everyday “Definitely.”
there was plenty of time for fun and
adventure. In fact his advice to other For more information about the
Sussex International Summer School
students thinking about going to do
research internationally is to balance (ISS) and more of Penn State’s
international research experiences
your time.
contact Susan Knell, Director of Science